Insanity unfolded during Fortuna's most recent demotion.
Twelve years back, Fortuna Düsseldorf found themselves struggling to avoid relegation. In their second game against Hertha BSC, a defining moment unfolded amidst a chaotic atmosphere on the field. Just before the game's completion, a man mysteriously sat down and sliced one of the penalty spots from the lush green grass. Otto Rehhagel, who was a seasoned coach back then, thought he had stumbled into an odd flick of fiction.
Tom Bartels, the commentator for ARD, could hardly contain his shock. "This can't be real," he exclaimed. "He's trying to take the penalty spot! It's outrageous... it's invalid... he wants to take the penalty spot even before the game ends!" The viewers watching at home had never witnessed such a bizarre incident. The return leg of relegation took place in mid-May 2012, and during the middle of the field, a man quietly went about cutting out one of the two designated penalty spots.
However, things were far from settled. Fortuna Düsseldorf, trailing in the first game at Berlin by a score of 2:1, was desperately attempting to grab a 2:2 draw. Suddenly, hordes of Düsseldorf fans invaded the pitch.
"What if..."
One of them was the culprit behind the penalty spot heist, and he later, realizing the gravity of his actions through the spotlight created by the media and the snirking remarks on social media, admitted sheepishly, "A whistle blew, and the stewards moved away. We rushed onto the field, excited. I didn't realize until I left the field that the game wasn't over yet."
Though the match was temporarily halted due to the invasion of Fortuna's fans for a span of 21 minutes, Hertha's coach, Otto Rehhagel, had witnessed a less than ideal scenario much earlier. Since the 85th minute, a crowd consisting of "stewards, children, mothers, and random bystanders" had swarmed around him in his coaching area. With no chance of a regular ending in sight, he claimed, continuing the game after the delay was unacceptable. Thomas Kraft, Hertha's goalkeeper, also voiced his concerns, "'I was thinking, what if we score the third goal there?"
Out of the numerous accounts of the bizarre incident on Düsseldorf's field, it was the DFB referees' collective loyalty to their boss, Wolfgang Stark, that made a difference. Their steadfast belief that the game had been concluded to their satisfaction was the driving force in skewing the outcome of the hearing. Although Otto Rehhagel recounted the chaos on Düsseldorf's field with heartfelt passion, describing it as a one-of-a-kind scenario from his 40-year-long Bundesliga tenure, the referees remained unimpressed by his emotional descriptions.
However, some of the Hertha players found it hard to accept the referees' decision at the time and confronted them. As a result, Thomas Kraft and Andre Mijatovic were suspended for fourth and third league matches respectively for abusing the referee.
Meanwhile, another professional seemed to lose his composure utterly, recording the longest ban in Bundesliga history. Lewan Kobiaschwili struck at referee Wolfgang Stark with a closed fist, narrowly missing causing him to fall. Stark later filed a criminal complaint against Kobiaschwili. Kobiaschwili's term suspension by the DFB extended until the end of the year, an ignominious distinction for Hertha Berlin's relegated squad.
Friedhelm "Timo" Koniezka, having previously triumphed against his former Borussia Dortmund at home on October 8, 1966, had raged against a decision by referee Max Spinnler that day. Konietzka executed a series of unsettling actions, shoving Spinnler in the chest, snatching his pipe, crushing it, and then stomping on it. Later, mainly unrepentant, Konietzka claimed, "I only kicked him a bit." Konietzka was subsequently banned from participating in the Bundesliga until the following spring, creating a six-month-long ban record. Thus, the notorious incident of pen stealing in Düsseldorf overshadowed Konietzka's previous upset against his former club.
Kobiaschwili reacted like Konietzka by accepting the DFB's punishment. Later on, he expressed his relief that the proceedings were concluded, as it seemed this was the feeling of everyone involved in the memorable relegation match. The emotional intensity of the game was high, and Fortuna justly earned promotion to the first Bundesliga. Interestingly, one player in particular was immensely relieved. This scorer later confessed he had never forgiven the club for their decision, but with hindsight and remorse admitted, "I would never do anything to harm Fortuna."
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VfL Bochum expressed their support for Fortuna Düsseldorf during their relegation battle, as they shared a common history in the Soccer Bundesliga. Otto Rehhagel, who was coaching Hertha BSC at the time, recalled that the incident was unusual but not unprecedented in his long career.
Despite the chaos and controversial events during the relegation matches, VfL Bochum ultimately stayed in the Soccer Bundesliga while Fortuna Düsseldorf managed to secure promotion. Otto Rehhagel and Hertha BSC had a mixed experience in the aftermath of the incident, with the team facing controversies and suspensions while Fortuna enjoyed their return to the top league.
Source: www.ntv.de
